obamawasquick to respondtogovernorromney'slatest attacks during his tour through ohio on friday. >> suddenly he's the candidate of change. but we know what change looks like. and what he's trying to sell, that ain't it. that ain't it. >> two new nbc/"wall street journal"/marist polls to show with you this morning. president obama with a six-point lead among likely voters in ohio. the numbers you see there, 51% to 45%. then going on to florida, the president gets support from 49% of likely voters. mitt romney, very close behind with 47%. let's go now to the latest on governor romney's campaign stops today. he starts off with a rally coming up in just about two hours, 9:00 a.m. nbc's peter alexander is in new hampshire. good morning to you, peter. >> alex, good morning to you. we're on the tarmac here now in new hampshire, specifically just a short time from now this is going to fill up with a big crowd greeting mitt romney and then sending him on his wail for what will be an exhaustive weekend. beginning here in new hampshire, he makes stops in iowa, colorado, back to iowa, ohio,

here in ohio. we expect to seepresidentobamaandgovernorromneyhit these battle grounds hard over the next ten days. ohio is perhaps the most important of them, especially for governor romney. because no republican candidate has won the white house, alex, without winning this state. last night as you mentioned, he and paul ryan held a huge rally in north canton last night, about 8,000 people according to the campaign braved some pretty brisk temperatures. the governor is asking for their help in this state because the latest cnn poll just out a few days ago shows that the president is up four points. 50-46. now that lead is about half of what it was a few weeks ago. so the governor has chipped away at that lead but still has a ways to go. they want to get their graund game out, get people out to early vote and then get people out to the polls on november 6th. governor romney is going to campaign with florida senator marco rubio and paul ryan is going to hit this state hard over the next 48 hours. they really expect to win here. rob portman, who was governor romney's debate partner

months they visited 50 times.presidentobama15,governorromney12. the catholic veep candidates truck there as well 20 times. that's a nod to the state's catholic swing vote. cash flows freely here as well. ad spending is the second highest in the country. $22 per person. florida and ohio with up to five times more electoral votes have as little as half that amount per person. now, the more they've invested the tighter the race has gotten. last month the real clear average had them virtually tied. now the president is up by two points and trending flat or declining wild romney is on a steady rise. if the polls aren't so clear there, early voting offers a bit of a hint. as of monday it equals almost 20% of estimated turnout and favors democrats two to one. but some watchers say it's election day swing votes that make the difference. and it's swing voters in these 21 swing counties that hold the keys. sprinkled across the state, iowa has 20% of all swing counties nation-wide. the state has long been pivotal. richard nixon traveled there as vice president when running for the white house

obamaarecampaigning fiercely in key battle ground states in a sprint to thefinish.governorromneykicked off the day in new hampshire. >> what i need you to do is to go across your street, to your neighbor, that has that other sign in the front yard. and in washington i'm going to go across the aisle to the guys who have been working for the other candidate. we're going to come together. this is a critical time for the nation. >> meanwhile, a short time ago president obama wrapped up a campaign stop in mentor, ohio. >> america's always at its best when everybody gets a fair shot. and everybody's doing their fair share. and everybody's playing by the same rules. that's what we believe. that's why you elected me in 2008. and that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. >> president obama will also make stops in wisconsin, iowa and virginia today. vice president biden is in colorado. and nbc's chris janzing is in mentor, ohio where the president spoke just a short time ago. chris as we check in on the other side of his speech, what was the president's c

you, alex. how are you? >> i'm well, thank you.>>governordean,look at this first republican endorsement since 1972 from "the des moines register," after president obama wasn't able to meet with the editorial board in person. do you thiyou think that had an influence. i spoke with rick green, he said it didn't. >> petulence is a major factor in newsrooms. look, they endorsed john edwards in the '04 primary. endorsements don't matter very much in races like this. they matter in down ballot races where people don't know them very much, but i don't think anybody is waiting to decide in this incredibly close election to see what "the des moines register" does. people read editorials because they are written by smart people, but they are read by smart people as well. >> i spoke with anne cornblunt, and she brought up that the tribune in salt lake city endorsed president obama. that state is going red, we know that. but in the state of iowa, sir, a small percentage of people still undecided, one that could go either way, might it in this case make a difference? >> i think it's very